An agricultural combine is a large machine used to harvest a variety of crops from a field. During a harvesting operation, a header at the front of the combine cuts ripened crop from the field. A feederhouse supporting the header transfers the crop material into the combine. Threshing and separating assemblies within the combine remove grain from the crop material and transfer the clean grain to a grain tank for temporary holding. Crop material other than grain exits from the rear of the combine. An unloading auger transfers the clean grain from the grain tank to a truck or grain cart for transport, or to another receiving bin for holding.
Row crop and corn headers are header types commonly used when harvesting crops planted in rows such as soybeans and corn. These header types have row dividers that extend forward from the header to divide crop rows and guide crop material into header row units that cut the crop. When harvesting corn with a corn header, the row dividers may be equipped with a feature called an ear saver to prevent corn ears from falling over the front the header during the harvesting operation. Traditionally, the ear saver was either a removal component attaching the row divider, or a permanent, non-removable design feature of the row unit.
In standing corn, it is desirable to have a relatively tall ear saver to substantially prevent corn ears from falling overboard while harvesting. However, in down corn conditions, a relatively tall ear saver creates a slope on the row divider that is too steep for the crop to easily slide over and into the row units. For an ear saver that is a permanent, non-removable design feature of the row divider, maximizing ear saver height for one condition compromises ear saver performance for the other condition. Alternatively, removable ear savers often get lost, may come off in the machine and cause damage, and are time consuming to install and remove with changing crop conditions.